The Musings of June
by Lapse in Judgment
Summary: This is a collection of the ten oneshots i wrote over June. They range from song fics to almost poetry and focus on members of the Konoha 11. Please review and tell me how i did. Please note the T rating. It's there for a reason.
1. Rush

**This is the first of my practice oneshots. I wrote it on the sixth of june in about 2 hours. I was reading this AWESOME book called Rx. (It was about a drug dealer. If u don't mind the f bomb, i'd reccomend it.) Anyway, i could actually see Sakura as a druggie. R&R (rush) ps, she didn't do this because of Sasuke or something like that. I like her character far too much to make her become a druggie for that reason. If that makes any sense at all. And by nin-dog training i mean in her (Deyna's) wolf form. She doesn't have a dog. You've been delayed long enough, on with the stupid drabble.  
**

A flood. That's what it felt like. A flood of life coursing through her veins, reviving a tired mind. That first moment, when everything seemed to fall into place, when you could see how everything connected and how it worked. Magic. But the magic was over too soon, coming to a crushing finish, leaving her more tired than when she had started.

Haruno Sakura sighed, resting her chin on her hands, looking at the little silver tubes that lay in front of her. Each one contained a one-way ticket on a train that was set to crash. But God, the ride was well worth the bone crushing collision. She lifted her head and propped her chin on her arm, weighing the pros and cons in her ongoing mental war.

_Just take it..._

_But that'll make it harder to stop..._

_Who cares? You can stop next time..._

_That's what you said last time, and look where it got me?_

_Take it._

Sakura narrowed her eyes, glaring at the little tubes. No matter how many times she tried to quit, she failed. The one and only intervention that her friends had staged had been an accident by the newest kunoichi. That had failed as well.

_That wolf bitch isn't here today. C'mon, you won't get busted and no one will notice. They never do._

_Take it._

"That wolf bitch" had been the only one who noticed, walking home from a training session at the Inzuka compound. Because she followed Sakura to see what she had been doing, she had been suspended from both taijutsu training with team Gai, and nin-dog training with Kiba, on account of having her arms, legs and jaw broken. Deyna had just been worried.

_She cared..._

_Yeah, and she almost told Tsunade-sama. It was a good thing you broke that bitches jaw._

_I put her in a coma..._

_She deserved it._

_Take it. _

Sakura sat up, still looking at the tubes. Tenten, Hinata and Ino had been more concerned about a girl they had only known for a month than about one of their closest friends. But, she had been worried too. Worried that their newest friend wouldn't be able to fulfill the mission she had begged Tsunade to grant, and that she wouldn't recover in time to save her **own** friends, the ones who she cared about.

That did it. Sakura didn't want to spend the night thinking about Deyna Shay, the former Xiaolin Dragon of lightning. Deyna Shay, the baka who's enemy kept popping up on low rank missions, causing havoc and pain to all who accompanied her. Sakura stepped forward and grabbed on of the little bullets.

_Now boarding flight 101, direct to the high of your life..._

She undid the cap and dumped the contents on her tongue.

_Take off in three..._

She sat down, waiting for the guilt to be forgotten, washed away in the whirlwind of thoughts.

_Two..._

Sakura, bent down, head in her hands. She always got dizzy after it took affect.

_one..._

Sakura felt like she had been thumped across the back, energy seeming to flow from between her shoulder blades.

_Zero._

She leaned back, a goofy smile on her face. Sakura turned her head and watched the ghosts of her inhibitions float out into the window, away into the night sky. Washed away in the rush...


	2. Sleep

**I _really _didn't like this one that much. It started out shikaino (like i wanted), and turned into something else. Bleh. I finished this on june seventh in about four hours. I was gonna have Shikamaru participate in my hobby of spackle watching, but I'm not sure how i ended up with this**. **Ah well, least i got another idea out if my head. R&R (itoko means male cousin by the way)  
**

Shikamaru tended to stare. When outside, he stared at the clouds, at the patterns that the shadows of leaves cast, at just about anything for that matter. And when he was inside...

He stared at spackling. You know the little piles of plaster that hang form the ceiling? That's what he stared at when there was nothing else to do. Shikamaru groaned, rubbing his eyes to clear them of sleep. It was two in the freaking morning, he should've been asleep by then, or out watching the stars if he couldn't sleep. Instead, he was staring at his favorite patch of ceiling, looking for patterns in the clumps.

"How troublesome," he muttered, hauling his form into a sitting position. There were many ways to try and get one to fall asleep. His friends all had different methods that only seemed to work for them. You could listen to music (Deyna), have a snack (Choji), if you had a pet you could stroke it (Kiba) or read or do any number of other things that all seemed equally troublesome at this point.

_"You think _breathing_ is too troublesome, Shika." _The boy growled. He had to listen to Ino talk all day, he didn't need his mind to be bringing up her comments when he was trying to sleep. Shikamaru scratched his side and looked around his room. It wasn't that interesting in the daylight, even less so when you couldn't see anything in it. Another groan fell from his lips. Staring at the sea of shadows that was his room wasn't helping either.

For once in his life, on ideas floated through the strategists mind. No brilliant ideas as too how he would fall asleep, or battle strategies, or _anything_. His mind was a blank, canvas and the painter who was supposed to fill it with thoughts had taken a vacation. "Damn it!" He cried, flopping backwards onto his bed. "Why the hell can't i sleep?!"

"Because you're awake," came a small voice from his doorway. Shikamaru lifted his head and saw his tiny cousin Shikaji, holding a little teddy bear to his chest. His cousin was staying with him for the week, and was probably the only person that he **_didn't_** find troublesome. The boy toddled over to where his older cousin was sitting and tried to climb onto the bed. "Why were you saying bad words?" Asked Shikaji as Shikamaru pulled him onto the bed and chose his next words carefully.

"I was saying those words because my mind isn't working straight right now," he said, looking at his cousin.

"Why isn't it?" Shikaji asked, playing with his green night shirt.

"Because I'm tired."

"Why are you tired?"

"Cuz i can't fall asleep?"

"Why can't you fall asleep?"

"Because you're here talking to me, that's why!"

The little boy turned to his normally bored cousin, surprised that Shikamaru had yelled at him. That _never _happened. "Then you should do what I do." Shikaji held out his worn out little bear to Shikamaru. Shikamaru took it slowly, uncertain as to what he was supposed to do with it.

"Troublesome. What am i supposed to do with your bear, Shiakji?" The little boy giggled in delight at knowing something his genius cousin didn't.

"You cuddle it itoko!" He laughed. Shikamaru was embarassed to say the least. The last time he had cuddled _anything_ had been when he was a little baby.

His eyes narrowed. "Shinobi don't cuddle bears, Shikaji," he said, trying to make his cousin understand. Shikaji wasn't going to become a ninja, so he wouldn't understand.

His cousin slid down to the floor. "Don't worry Shika, i won't tell anyone," he yawned, already heading for the door. It was really too late for either of them to be up. "He just helps _me _sleep, so maybe he can help you," and with that Shikaji slid out the door, seeming far too mature to be only five years old. Shikamaru looked to the door, And the bear. And the door. And the bear. _Oh hell!_

Shikamaru flopped backward so his head hit the pillow, holding the bear to his chest like Shikaji had done. He could feel his breathing begin to slow, felt himself begin to relax...If this **_EVER_** reached anyone he knew... Konoha would be in desperate need of new shinobi.


	3. Failure

**I wrote this after i saw one of my friends suffer from severe over exhaustion during our twelve minute run on june seventh. She was fine, but this idea stuck in my head. My apologies to goldberry if she decides to read this and thinks i copied this from "The Sparrow." I didn't mean to. This could be any pairing in the Naruto world, i didn't actually pick one for this story. Actually, now that i think about it, i can see this as a Shikaino ficlet, whatever the heck that means. (failure)  
**

Failing. One of the most depressing words in the world. You could fail on a test, or at life, or just be a failure. But_ nothing_ can compare when your body decides to fail on itself. Well, maybe _one _thing can. Watching someone else's body fail. He stared as she writhed on the ground, trying to force her body to operate. Forcing her heart to pump and her lungs to breath as tears rolled down her face from trying. Just trying to live took so much effort it made him want to cry as well. But there was nothing that could be done. All he could do was watch and wait until it passed. **If** it passed. All he could do was tell her to relax, to count her breaths, to focus on nothing but breathing and his voice.

He held her hand as she struggled to sit up later, and then carried her when she couldn't stand the walk to help. He helped her, wishing that her body wouldn't cease to operate, hoping that it would continue to work as they went to go find the help to heal it. She lived, but there was _no pain_ greater than the pain of watching her body fail on her. No pain.


	4. Curious

**Finished on june the ninth. I actually like how this one turned out. I got the idea listening to my _own_ i pod, which if full of heavy guitar music. I would kill anyone who touched it. Shino and Kiba are two of my fave characters, so, meh. R&R (curious) Jesus, Mary and Joseph is a swear that i got from "The book thief."  
**

Here's a little known fact about Aburame Shino. He loves music. And not just any music, but heavy guitar, are they screaming or singing music. To the death metal, as it were. Ho. Ly. Crap. That stuff was _heavy_, man.

Kiba stumbled backward, flopping on the ground and staring wide eyed at the little device that had practically blown his ear drums to the moon. He had made the mistake of listening to Shino's i pod. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," he muttered, staring at the thing in disbelief. "How could something that little make that much noise?" Kiba crawled over to it, like a cat would to investigate something. Kiba slowly extended a hand and tapped it once with his finger, leaping back as though it would bite his head off. But it didn't. It just sat there.

Kiba straightened up, regaining a little of his composure. "Heh," he false laughed, glancing around to see if anybody was watching him. No one was. Thank god. And why should he be thanking god? Because a little thing that plays music just got the better of him. That's why. "Hah. You're just a stupid little piece of technology, aren't you?" He asked, picking the i pod up. Yes folks, he was attempting to have a conversation with an inanimate object.

Kiba smiled, wagging a finger in front of it's little screen. "You thought you could beat me, didn't you? Well you were wrong!" He barked, laughing in it's non-exsistant face. He then began to do his happy dance, which involved a lot of arm pumping. Inzuka Kiba should be nominated for Konoha's worst dancer...

"What are you doing with my i pod, Inzuka?" Kiba immediately stopped his horrible dancing and whipped around, coming face to face with Shino. Shino had been standing behind Kiba, waiting for that baka to realise he was there. If he had stuck with that plan, the next ice age would have rolled around before Kiba realised he was there. Better to go with the direct approach.

Kiba took a step back, hoping to put some distance between himself and bug boy. Shino took another step closer, closing the gap between them and radiating bloodlust. "I'm going to say this again, and you are going to answer. What are you doing with my i pod Kiba?" It was no longer a question, but a statement. Kiba rubbed the back of his neck, searching for an answer.

'Uh, well, that's a good question now," Kiba glanced at Shino, hoping he would let him off the hook. No such luck. No one touched Shino's i pod and got away with it. _NO _one.

If anyone looked out their window at the Hokage monument the next morning, they might have noticed someone hanging from it, like a fly in a cocoon. That would be Kiba, suspended hundreds of feet above the ground. _No _one messes with Shino's i pod and gets away with it.


	5. Pizza

**Finished on june 23. Not sure what made me write this, but i like it. r&r**

"What the heck kinda food is this?" Choji inquired, gazing at the piece of pizza scrutinizingly. Team 10 had gathered together on one of their days off to hang out,and they had all brought lunch. Shikamaru had brought some riceballs, Choji had brought some chips, and Ino had brought something he had never even heard of. Unusual, as Choji was Konoha's current food expert.

Ino shrugged. "Deyna made it when she got hungry. Said she used to eat it all the time where she lived," Ino rolled onto her front and gazed at the offending piece of food. Deyna had taken to the cuisine of her new home rather quickly, but still had pangs for the foods she had eaten in Canada and China. This did occasionally include rabbit, foul and the odd squirrel, owing to her child hood as a wolf. These were few and far between, thank god, and were satisfied in the woods where no one could see her. At one point she had gotten such an over powering urge for pizza that she went out, bought the ingredients and used one of her Shen Gong Wu to find the recipe. She had made three pizzas, and eaten two of them herself. The last one had been given to the Yamanakas as her unnecessary weekly payment for them allowing her to live with them. Having nothing else to eat, Ino brought it to the training grounds for lunch. No one had touched it yet.

Choji shook his head. "Still, i don't trust it. What do you think Shikamaru?" He asked, handing the genius the pizza. If someone with an i.q over two hundred couldn't figure out what it was, no one could. Shikamaru gave an irritated sigh and rolled over, grumpy that his cloud watching had been disrupted. He just lookd at the piece of pizza in his friends out stretched hand. And then...

"Ramf!" Shikamaru darted his hand forward and crammed the pizza into his mouth, ripping a piece off savagely. He chewed it thoughtfully for a minute, ignoring the looks from his teammates, and swallowed it. They just stared at him for a moment before he handed Ino her pizza back. "I think it could have used a bit more oregano in the sauce, and that the rosemary was a nice touch," he replied, rolling onto his back again. "Be sure to tell Deyna that she shouldn't be shaky with the cheese, the more the better, and to ease up on the meat. Not all of us grew up eating moose you know." Ino and Choji looked at each other and back at Shikamaru, stunned. "And it's a type of Italian delicacy called "pizza". It's very popular in North America and Europe. Typically it's drenched in fat and oil, but this one seems very healthy." No one said anything.

A small smile crept onto Ino's face. "Nara Shikamaru, you son of a bitch." The grin continued to grow until it covered her face. "I had no idea the you even knew what the words "oregano" and "rosemary" meant." Her words were filled with a laugh.

Shikamaru started, his eyes widening marginaly. "And there aren't many people here who even know what pizza is, let alone where it comes from. Not to mention the chef worthy compliments," She was almost laughing now, fighting back the chuckles that threatened to over power her. He silently began to pray, words lining up the falling to their doom on his tongue, sounding just like the breath that propelled them.

"Ino," he interrupted, turning and facing her. "Are you trying to make a point?" He inquired boredly, forcing his voice to remain calm. Ino smirked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Eh, not really," and took a bite out of the pizza. Choji and Ino left soon after that, Choji to restock his chip supply, and Ino to work at the flower shop. As she turned to leave, Ino stopped down to Shikamaru's ear and whispered.

"Actually, it wasn't rosemary, baka, it was thyme," and without another word, turned and left. Shikamaru sighed and leaned back once more. As far as eating, lunch had been a fantastic failure, but as far as discovery, well, that was yet to be decided.


	6. Soul

**I'm not sure where that came from, but i was in a poem mood. Started/ finished on june 15th, in about twenty minutes or less. (soul) Poor Tenten, i killed her. Why i'm not quite sure, but i did. Kind of Nejiten ish, but not really  
**

Be better. Be faster. Be stronger. Those words echoed through Tenten's brain and she hated it.

They were there when she rested, there when she slept, there when she floated on the bleeding edge of death.

There when she laughed, there when she cried, there when she was having a battle inside. And she hated it.

Shinobi were taught to be better than they are, strive to be more powerful today than you were yesterday.

But what if you can't do better?

If you can already hit a target every time?

What if you train and get wetter and wetter, what if you just can't get better?

She drove herself to the bleeding edge, forced her body to sway.

Because to her, up on the ledge, there was no other way.

And as she trained, and pounded at her limits, she found and despaired that that was it, she was there.

She couldn't go any farther, this was it, she'd hit the floor.

Because Tenten of Konoha couldn't take it any more.

Her eyes went out, they shone no more, her heart came to a still. Her body swayed, her legs gave way, and she embraced the sky.

Her soul shot up, away from there, away into the sky.

Her spirit cried, her heart then split, because she learned to fly

It wasn't her, she thought right then,

That should have learned to soar

Neji, the Hyuga prodigy, deserved it so much more


	7. Dying

**Finished on june 24. I was in a song fic mood and i love this song. The song is time of dying by three days grace. r&r (dying)**_  
_

_On the ground I lay_

_Motionless in pain_

_I can see my life flashing before my eyes_

Fuck. Your first real mission without any Shen Gong Wu and you're lying on the ground dying, you suck, you suck, you suck! These words were pumping through Deyna's system as she lay on the ground, blood leaking from a wound on her back. She had given the Wu back to the temple after finding a way to summon them with kuchiyose no jutsu. Shortly after, she had been assigned to help team Gai with a rather common mission, running scrolls to someone who needed them. Now, here she was, lying in a pool of blood from a wound that her own sword had inflicted.

_Did i fall asleep?_

_Is this all a dream?_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare  
_  
She growled to herself. Tenten had forged the sword herself and gave it to Deyna as a sign that she was a strong person who no longer needed to rely on baubles to do simple tasks. And now she had lost the sword, something both Tenten and Neji had warned her not to do, and had gotten herself stabbed with the damn thing. Fuck.

_I will not die_

_I will not die_

_I will survive_

Hadn't she been surviving this whole time? Hadn't she been surviving since she was six months old, cast out to die in the snow? Surviving battle after battle, be it against giant vermin, immortal jungle cats, or mid-terms? She had lived through an attack that left her friends in a coma and their old school in a state of ruin. And now after sending the Wu back to the temple, only now was she truly forcing herself to survive.

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_

"Aww, is the widdle puppy tiewd?" Asked a voice, one that made her want to be dead. It was the voice of the Grass-nin who had stolen her sword, shut down all of her lightning and morphing attacks and stabbed her. A chuckle escaped his unseen lips. "I was told that you were a vicious, blood thirsty creature, capable of demolishing a small village. They weren't wrong. Your lightning attacks are amazing, generating it and manipulating it with no effort what so ever. And that Three Forms Melee technique, well, that was a nasty little surprise." More chuckling as he rolled Deyna onto her back, smiling as she groaned. "But now you're out of tricks."

_On this bed i lay_

_Losing everything_

_I can see my life passing me by_

Deyna glanced left and right, trying to think of a plan. None of the members of team Gai were to be seen, just many discarded weapons spattered in blood. Weapons... She smiled now, remembering one of the techniques she had developed. Team 8 joked that it could be her signature jutsu, if it required chakra.

_Was it all too much_

_Or just not enough?_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare_

She turned and smiled at the guy, wickidness glinting in her brown eyes. "Seeing as you have a liking for well made weapons, allow me to show you some." With a roar she let out a burst of negatively charged lightning, followed immediately by a burst of positively charged lightning. The Grass-nin shrieked as the belt he was wearing dragged him down, it sticking to her abdomen. The weapons near by began to quiver, slowly inching towards her. "Now die!"

_I will not die_

_I will not die_

_I will survive_

The weapons leaped into the air and began speeding towards her, drawn to her like a magnet. Deyna's eyes roved the mass of weapons, making sure there were on openings. There weren't. She had fallen where Tenten had used one of her weapons attacks. The Grass-nin continued to wail as the weapons drew closer, the metal garments he wore sticking to her like glue. Magnetism. She had developed a way to turn herself into a living electromagnet. The technique drew all metal object to her, making it ideal to rid an enemy of their weapons. But they would fly at her, so she had invented a way to keep herself from getting hurt. While the weapons were drawn to one sphere of energy, she sould erect another around her body, shielding herself from them weapons. It was flawless.

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you,_

_In my time of dying_

A sudden though occured to her. She couldn't erect the shield with this Grass-nin on top of her. Her defence now had many openings, around her sides, head, legs. The Grass-nin noticed this as well and smiled at her, a metal tooth glinting in the half light. "At least i can die knowing my enemy will die with me," he smirked. And then, as the weapons continued to come closer, she had another idea. Possibly the stupidest one yet.

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you,_

_In my time of dying_

Another burst of magnetism left her body, this time through her mouth. The metal in the Grass-nin's mouth was immediately drawn to it and smashed into her. The taste of acrid breath filled Deyna's mouth, and she almost wished she hadn't done it. But there simply hadn't been any other way to get the bastard to shield her entire body.

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you, _

_In my time of dying_

When the weapons finally hit their mark, she discovered that there had still been lots of openings. Her side had gotten nicked and there were a couple little slices on her legs, but she wasn't the one who had been turned into a human pincushion. Deyna sighed and looked at the ground to find a blade of glittering silver on the ground, right where the Grass-nin had dropped it. Now she understood why both Tenten and Neji had told her not too lose it. The blade had probably cost them a small fortune. Deyna grimaced as she shoved the sword back into her belt. Not to self: don't _**ever**_ kiss a grass ninja again.


	8. Exposure

**Okay, not really a drabble cuz it's so long, but hey!** **I loved this one, but hated the ending, cuz i couldn't find a good ending sentence. This is a sequel to my other Sakura drug drabble. r&r Naruskau if you look hard enough. Actually, not that hard. (exposure)  
**

Naruto growled and whipped another kunai at one of the training dummies. God damn Kakashi sensei was late again! Would it kill him to be on time for once!?! "Hehhhh," he sighed, pulling another knife out of his holster. If his teacher wouldn't show up, he'd just have to train himself.

"Shit!" Screeched the Kyubbi boy, holding his bleeding hand. In a particularly violent fit of rage he had tossed the kunai wrong, slicing a nice deep gash in his hand. Blood was now running through his fingers, forming grisly crimson waterfalls. "Frick! Why did i do that?" He demanded, glaring at it. As a ninja he was used to pain, and swearing loudly seemed to help.

"Do what?" Came a voice, soft and curious. Naruto turned around to see Sakura standing at the edge of the clearing. Naruto began swearing under his breath. He hadn't meant to attract any attention, and had once again forgot that his voice was loud and had a tendency to carry.

"Nothing Sakura-chan," he muttered, accidentaly injecting venom into his tight voice. Sakura pulled back slightly, sliding a fraction behind a tree. Just like Hinata, thought Naruto. "Just cut myself," he added, not wanting her to be hurt by his statement.

Sakura gave him a small smile and walked over to him. Naruto paused, noticing her appearance. Her hair seemed lank and the color washed out, like a shirt that had been run through the wash too many times. Her skin seemed loose and paler than usual, like she was sick. Light gray rings surrounded red-rimmed eyes, making her vaugely resemble Gaara and furthering her sickly appearance. "Sakura-chan, are you okay?" He asked as she knelt down in front of him. Sakura glanced up at him, putting on another smile. Even her eyes seemed washed out.

"Hai, Naruto. Just a little under the weather," she muttered, taking his hand and healing it, too distracted to notice that the skin was already starting to mend. This earned another scrutinizing look from sharp cerulean eyes, roving across the top of her head.

"You don't seem ok," he said, taking a look at his newly mended hand. Normally he wold be amazed at Sakura's proficiency at being a medic, but he had other things on his mind. Sakura didn't meet his eyes or even reply, she just busied herself with firing shurikens at one of the dummies. But her heart doesn't seem in it, like someone has pulled it out and placed it somewhere far away. Naruto was considering just dropping the topic, when he noticed something else. She hadn't hit the target once. Granted, her accuracy was no where near as good as Tenten's, but she should've hit the target by now.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" He repeated, gripping her arm to stop her mid-throw. The shuriken clattered to the ground, landing with a thump in the ground. Sakura didn't meet his gaze, nor did she wrench her arm out of his grasp. She just stood there, not really doing anything, her red rimmed eyes staring blindly at the ground.

"Nothing," she replied, her voice seeming to wain as she spoke, as though the breath it was supported on wasn't strong enough to keep it there. Now she brought her jade gaze to meet his. "Nothing at all." Naruto glared at her, the same type of glare her gave when dealing with someone like Neji, someone who needed some sense talked into them. Or shoved down their throats.

In one deft movement, Naruto snatched the bag full of tools off her back and began rummaging through it, despite loud and violent protests. His fingers traced over a slim metal tube and he wrenched it free, dropping the bag on the ground. Naruto's eyes widened as he examined the tube, finding a small engraving on the side. A deer inside a maple leaf. The Nara clan symbol. Naruto's eyes grew to a size to rival Lee's and he stumbled backward. "T-these are Nara clan drugs!" He cried, dropping the vial and staring at her wide eyed.

Sakura bowed her head and frantically began shoving the items back inside. Naruto growled and bent down to her level, grasping her chin. "Why-?"

Sakura cut him off, tears flowing down her face and splashing on his mended hand. "Because of everything! Because of our missions, because Kakashi sensei is always late!" She rambled on, dissolving as she spoke until all her remaining color was washed away. Naruto just held her, for the first time in his life at a loss of what to say. The kunai he had thrown had hit the targets heart, along with his.


	9. Balance

**I wrote this after taking my first final. I felt like I was in the first part of the chunin exams. I really liked this one, so please tell me how I did. (equilibrium)  
**

The room was a mixture of mind blowing concentration and near perfect relaxation. The rustling of paper and rhythmic tapping of pencils was soothing to some, and stressing to others. Pockets of stress gathered in some places, and would disperse the second something was figured out. Some never moved, but gained in intensity as the epicenter swirled, trying desperately to find a way to answer the question. Some people almost laughed at how easy it was. Others were near tears at how impossible it appeared to be.

But underneath the tide of not-quite-calm, there was a ferocious current of movement, rushing through the room and sweeping all, the predators and their prey, along with it. How could the proctors be so blind to this turbulence? This facade of calm that should have been seen through in a minute was left unpenetrated by their skilled eyes. Or was it? When they failed a cell it became clear, and only for that moment, what they were really doing. Looking for ripples in the tension, ripples that shouldn't have been there, and tracking them back to their source, to the person who fumbled and created them. One ripple and you were on their radar. Five and you were history.

The predators picked their prey with great skill, choosing those who they believed knew the answers and continuing on faith, or painstakingly riffling through the pile until they located the ones who _truly_ knew. Some wasted valuable time attempting to locate them, and ended up finding the wrong one. That was what got many caught, because if clumsy, searching created many ripples.

Some had advantages to the point of unfair, kekeigenkai and clan or village abilities that put them on another level. Penetrating or mimicking eyes were ideal, but some of the most obvious techniques sometimes worked wonders. If a dog was on your head, wouldn't it be a red flag? What if that dog was looking around? Wouldn't that raise eyebrows? Apparently not, considering how one of the most obvious techniques created no ripples.

As time ticked further down, seeping through some cosmic filter, the relaxation began to melt away, and the tension began to reign. It began to pound in their ears, began to prick at the most calm and stoic hearts, until they too pumped with righteous fear and uncertainty. Whenever another cell was flunked, one huge ripple flowed from everywhere, causing a disturbance on the failing calm. The facade was cracking and the turbulence was leaking through. Soon it would replace the calm, and they wouldn't search for ripples.

They would search for eruptions. The thicket of emotions had been tainted, poisoned with worry, doubt, pride and many others. Now the only way to find something was to watch and wait to see what happened. For they would all snap eventually, and the test had been calculated accordingly. After an hour, people would snap. Best no to torture them for too long. The rest of the exam could take care of that.


	10. Boredom

**Finished june 28, last day of school**. **Last day of school, last drabble. Seems fitting. If anyone has any suggestions, I'll type them up and publish them at the end of the month.** **I wrote drabbles mostly about the Konoha 11 because i like most of those characters. Aside from Jiraiya and Kakashi, i don't like most of the adults. The more i read over what i've written, it seems i've finally found my style and genre! Horray for angst and descriptions! r&r!!!  
**

Temari sighed as she watched Kankuro fiddling around with one of his puppets, trying to find a way to cram even more weapons into it. It was a balmy day in Sunagakure, a day where nothing seemed to happen and everybody seemed bored. Even Gaara was affected, finding it too hot to go on a killing rampage.

"Shit!" Swore Kankuro, holding his bleeding finger. He had sliced it on one of Karasu's few unpoisoned blades, and was very glad he hadn't nicked it on one of the poison ones. The poison he had coated them with made all your skin flake off and gave you a fever that would break thermometers. Temari rolled her eyes and glared at her younger brother.

"Damn it Kankuro, do you have to cut yourself on _every single_ weapon you have?!? It's getting stupid," she groaned. The Sand siblings were currently lazing about in some apartment room, they couldn't remember where, and were bored out of their skulls. Gaara was lying upside down on the large bed, staring at the ceiling, with his gourd beside him. Temari was sitting on the windowsill, leaning out above the bustling main street of Sunagakure. And Kankuro was currently sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by vials of poison and pieces of his dismantled puppets.

"Shut up. Just cuz _you_ can't appreciate the delicacy that it takes to manipulate puppets doesn't let you-"

"Delicacy?! If it involved any sort of delicacy you wouldn't be able to do it!" Barked Temari, pouring the kind of venom only big sisters can apply into her statement. Kankuro growled at her and tossed one of his poisoned knives at her. The kunoichi sighed and stood her fan up in front of her face, ignoring the sound of the knife bouncing off the meal fan. "Yeah, that's _real _smart. Just go ahead and throw one of your oh-so deadly knives at me. Do that again, oto, and you'll need to go shopping for some new puppets."Her younger brother growled again. "And stop that growling, You sound like some sort of filthy beast."

That comment resulted in Kankuro leaping up and flinging puppet parts at his sister, who merely flapped her fan in front of her face and shielded herself. "Shut up! You think you're all high and mighty just cuz you know how to use a little fan," he sneered, crossing his arms and taking a defiant stance.

Temari wasted no time retaliating. "This coming from you, the guy who uses dolls for fighting? Ooh, I'm dying!" She fake wailed, holding her face as though it were melting.

Kankuro flared up at once. "Karasu is not a doll, he's a puppet!"

Temari wagged her finger in the air. "Ah, but both are children's playthings."

"So are fans!"

_**"SHUT UP!!!"**_ Came a roar from the bed. Temari and Kankuro turned to see Gaara lying on his stomach fixing them with his famous death glare. "If you two don't shut up, I'll tape your mouth's shut," he hissed. Temari and Kankuro covered their mouths in an attempt to hide their giggling. Gaara narrowed his eyes again. "What?" He asked, which caused his siblings to launch into greater fits of laughter.

Temari was wiping tears from her eyes as she answered. "Do you have any idea how funny that sounds coming from you?" She slipped deeper into her pool of hysterical laughter, sliding down the wall as she did so. Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow. "I mean, i-if you were trying to threaten us, you would tell us you'd kill us, not tape our mouth's shut!" More laughter.

Gaara shrugged and returned to staring at his patch of ceiling. "I'd kill you if it wasn't so hot. The blood would seep everywhere and would stink up the place," he closed his sea green eyes. "Killing you two would be more trouble than it was worth." Kankuro and Temari fell down laughing at that statement. Turns out Gaara of the Desert _does_ have a sense of humor.


End file.
